XXVI
MISS PARROTT'S COACH AND THE COASTING
It was snowing tiny flakes when Joel's eyes popped open, andthe small, feathery things whirled against the little panedwindow, as if they would very much like to come in.
"Dave--Dave!" cried Joel, poking him, "get up--it's snowing!"
David's eyes flew quite wide at that, and he sat up at once. "Oh,Joel," he squealed, as he watched the flakes, "ain't theypretty!"
"Um! I guess so," said Joel, springing into his clothes;"they're nice for snowballs and to slide on, anyway."
David reached over for one blue woollen stocking on the floor bythe side of the bed, and sat quite still with it in his hand,regarding the snowy whirl.
"You ain't got dressed a bit," cried Joel, spinning around, "andI'm all ready."
"So will I be all ready," cried little David, pulling on thestocking with all haste, and flying at the rest of his clothes withalacrity. "Wait, Joe--do," as Joel began to clatter downstairs.
"Can't," said Joel, racing off, "I'm going to get the sled."
"Wa-it," called Davie, half crying.
But Joel was in the woodshed, hauling out the precious sled thatBen had made for the boys out of some boards and old sleighrunners that had been given him. He was dragging it out with adreadful noise from the corner where it had stayed all summer,when Polly came running out.
"I don't believe it's going to snow much," she said, squintingat the feathery specks. "You won't want your sled to-day, boys."
"I'm goin' to have it ready," said Joel, with another pull.
"Well, I'll help you," said Polly, taking hold of one end. "Dearme, I do think this is the most splendid sled in all the world,"she exclaimed enthusiastically. "I don't see how Ben could makeit so nice."
"Ben can do anything," declared Joel, tugging away.
"I know it," said Polly, with pride. "Well, I wish he had timeto go coasting all he wants to," she added sorrowfully.
"Maybe he will have, this winter," suggested Joel, who nevercould bear to see Polly sad.
"P'r'aps," said Polly; "but there's always wood to chop in thewinter, Joe. There--here it comes!" as the big sled tumbled outwith a rush, to be dragged into the middle of the woodshed floor.
David now came running downstairs, and Phronsie, hearing thatthe sled was to be drawn out, pattered into the woodshed, too."Oh, Polly," she cried in rapture, "now I'm going out to ride onit this very minute," and she danced round and round, clappingher hands in glee.
"O dear me!" cried Polly, pointing out of the little low window."See, Phronsie, there's only the leastest little bit of snow.Why, I do verily b'lieve it's going to stop."
At this dreadful suggestion, every one of the little Peppers inthe woodshed rushed to the window, and Joel flung wide the door,so that a cold blast, carrying a feathery cloud of little flakes,swept in.
"Oh, Joel!" exclaimed Polly, "shut the door, Phronsie'll catchcold." Joel was already out in the house-place, dancing about,declaring it was going to be awful deep, and they could make asnow man soon, he guessed; so little Davie ran and pushed to thedoor, shutting off all chance of hearing the rest of what he wassaying. He was gone some time, and the others ran into thekitchen, for Polly declared they would get no breakfast that dayif she did not hurry up, and David and Phronsie thought it muchnicer to watch the snowstorm from those windows than from thelittle tucked-up window in the woodshed. The consequence wasthat Joel ran in just as they had begun breakfast, in a fineglow, his cheeks very red, and his chubby nose as well. "Whydidn't you come?" he demanded, with sparkling eyes.
"Where?" cried Polly. "Oh, Joe, what have you been doing? Yourface is as red as fire."
"And your nose is red, too," said David.
"I don't care," said Joel, slipping into his seat. "Give me somemush, Polly, do!" he begged hungrily, passing his bowl. "Oh,'twas just prime, I tell you!"
"What?" asked Polly, quickly. "You keep saying it's fine, anddon't tell us what you've been doing. That isn't polite," sheadded, for Polly was quite particular as to her manners, andliked to be very genteel before the other children.
"Oh, I've been riding in Miss Parrott's coach," said Joel,trying to appear as if this were an everyday occurrence, andeating on as if nothing had happened. Miss Parrott lived in anold ancestral house, about two miles from Badgertown. She wasvery rich, but kept entirely to herself, and drove about in anancient coach, the envy of all the villagers. "And I called youall to come, and you wouldn't."
"Oh, Joel Pepper!" cried Polly, greatly shocked to think of thesplendid chance they all had missed, and dropping the big spoonwith which she was serving the mush, "you never called us onesingle bit!"
"No, you never did!" added David, solemnly, and looking at Pollywith all his eyes.
"Never did!" echoed Phronsie, shaking her yellow head positively."Polly, I want some more mush, I do."
"Yes, I did, too," spoke up Joel, loudly.
"Joel!" reproved Mother Pepper.
"Well, I did, Mamsie," repeated Joel, in a very injured tone. "Icalled just like this, 'come quick! and ride in Miss Parrott'scoach;' so there!"
"O dear me!" cried Polly, passionately, sitting back in herchair, "I'd rather have gone in that coach than have doneanything else, and now you've been, and we never'll get a chanceagain. Never in all this world!"
"How did it happen, Joel?" asked Ben. "Do tell the whole storyfrom the beginning."
"Why, you see it was this way," began Joel. "Polly, give me somemore mush, do," passing his bowl.
"O dear me, do tell first, Joe," cried Polly, impatiently. "Idon't know where the spoon is," for the big spoon had tumbledoff to the floor, and she hadn't seen it go in the excitement.
"Joel, get a clean one," said Mrs. Pepper, "and then pick up theother; it's likely it fell down."
So Joel hopped out of his chair and got a clean spoon for Polly,and then dived under the table and came back with the otherspoon. "Now begin and tell us all about it," said his mother."No, Polly, you needn't help him the mush till he's told."
So Joel, seeing he wasn't to get the mush until the whole storyhow he got his ride in the Parrott coach was related, began atonce, and rattled it off as fast as he could. "The--man--that--drives--it--stopped--an'--I--was--in--th'--yard--an'--he--said--don't--you--wanter--all--hands--o'--you children--to drive--I've--got--to drive a--piece--down th'--road--an' I--called--and--called--you--an'--we--went--an'--that's all. Now give mesome mush!"
"If we only had known!" mourned Polly, clasping her hands. "Isit lined with green satin, Joel?" she asked suddenly.
"I don't understand," said Mrs. Pepper, in a puzzled way. "Wherewere you, Joel, when Miss Parrott's man asked you? And youdidn't go bareheaded, and without your coat?"
"Out in the yard, Mamsie," answered Joel. "Polly, do give mesome mush," for Polly was so absorbed waiting to hear if MissParrott's coach was really lined with green satin, that she hadforgotten all about Joe and his breakfast. So now she hastilydipped out the mush into the bowl that was waiting for it. "Is itreally lined with green satin, Joel?" she cried breathlessly.
"I don't know," said Joel, all his attention upon his bowl ofmush.
"I most know it is," said Polly, leaning her elbows on the table,and her head upon her hands, to think how it would really seemto be riding in a coach lined with green satin.
"And now I never shall go," she ended.
"Why didn't you come back for us?" asked David, suddenly. Hehadn't eaten anything since Joel had rushed in with thewonderful story, and between Polly's disappointment and his own,was in a great state of distress.
"Oh, I thought you were coming right off," said Joel, swallowingrapid mouthfuls; "and then, when I got into the coach, the manthat drives Miss Parrott said he couldn't wait no longer."
"Any longer, you mean," corrected Mrs. Pepper.
"Yes'm," said Joel; "and then we drove off."
"You see, we had to shut the door to the woodshed," said Polly,"'cause Phronsie would catch cold if we didn't,
and we didn'thear a single word when you called, Joel Pepper; not a singleone!"
"Where'd you go?" asked David, suddenly.
"Oh, down to the Centre," said Joel, "to two--no, I guess four stores,and then he brought me home--that is, almost home. He droppedme at the corner."
"O dear me!" exclaimed Polly.
"Oh, jolly! look at the snow!" screamed Joel, flying out of hischair. And sure enough, while they had been so engrossed, thereit had been coming down faster and faster, until it was apowdery veil, almost too thick to see through.
So somewhere in the middle of the morning, Joel and Davidstarted off with their sled, drawing on their mittens with thegreatest satisfaction, and bobbing good-by to the otherswatching them from the windows.
All went well, until Joe proposed that they should go to Simon'sHill, a long steep thoroughfare some two miles distant, thatswung at the bottom very abruptly into the turnpike. Andtrudging off there, they climbed it with despatch, and began tocoast down.
"Oh, whickets!" cried Joel, who was steering, little Davie hangingon behind, more than three-quarters afraid, though he wouldn't letJoel see it for all the world. "Gee-haw-gee-haw-whee-dimp-dump,"as they flew over the rises, bumping and twisting from side to side.
"GEE-HAW-GEE-HAW-WHEE-DIMP-DUMP"]
"Oh, take care, Joe," screamed David, in terror, "we most wentover," for on one side the road ran down abruptly into a thicketof evergreen and scrub oaks.
"Hoh, we're going straight!" sang out Joel, "you're always sucha 'fraid-cat, David Pepper."
"I ain't a 'fraid-cat," protested Davie, "and I want to go hometo mother."
"Well, you are going down again, eleven, no, I guess sixtytimes," declared Joel, "after this. Gee-whiz-bump-bump-bang!"This last was brought out of him by a sudden slewing to the side,where the slope ran off to the evergreen, scrub oak thicket; butJoel missed the edge by about an inch, so he screamed withdelight, and whizzed safely down the rest of the hill.
"I ain't going down ever again," said David, "not once, Joel,"as they flew along and the cold air swept his pale cheeks.
Just then, along the turnpike toward the abrupt turn of thehill-road, was coming an ox-pung, loaded with wood, and drivenby old Farmer Seeley, who was almost as blind as a bat and deafas a post.
"Hi!" screamed Joel, whizzing along. "See us come down," butFarmer Seeley neither saw nor heard, and just then he concludedto steer his team up as near as possible to the hill-road. Joelsaw this, and yelled, but he might as well have screamed to thehill. It was all done in a moment. Down flew the clumsy home-madesled, that couldn't be turned in a second; Joel franticallysteering to get past the big awkward team, that was blocking upthe way, David clinging to him in a dumb helpless terror.Z-z-rr-thud! and the first thing that old Farmer Seeley knew, foursmall arms and legs were waving frantically in the air, andthrown suddenly, with a mixture of boards and runners, againstthe ox-team of wood, with an awful crash; and then all was still.
"Land o' Goshen!" ejaculated Farmer Seeley, at the crash."What's that 'ere? O my gracious Peters!" as he saw what it wasas well as he was able, for his poor eyes. And getting off fromthe team he went to the spot, shaking so in every limb, that hecould hardly walk.
There was no sound beneath the upturned sled, where it lay justas it had been thrown against the wood-pung, and for one dreadfulmoment Farmer Seeley thought the two boys to whom the small legsand arms belonged were dead, and he shook so his false teeth rattledin his head, and he sat right down in the snow.
"I must dig 'em out," he said to himself in a cold fright, "forthey've druv their heads clean into the snow, and they may getstuffocated, if they ain't already dead."
So he did the best he could in that work, proceeding only alittle way, when Joel bounced up suddenly, shook his black hair,and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, I remember," he said.
"Now, see here--you boy," screamed old Farmer Seeley, angrily,"I'll have you took up, whoever ye be, a-runnin' into my ox-team,an' a-buntin' into my wood. Um--I will!"
"Get Dave out," cried Joel, who cared very little for whateverthe old man might say, and pawing the snow wildly. "Help me getDave out."
"I can't help none," said the old man, querulously. "I'm stiffin th' jints, an' beside, you've scart me to death, eenamost."
"Oh--oh!" screamed Joel, in a frightful panic. "Dave--get up,Dave!"
But David lay like a little log of wood, as still as those onthe old pung.